In True Wildcat Fashion
by starwisher
Summary: On TEMPORARY Hiatus. The Winter Musicale is now less than a week away...and tensions of ALL kinds are running high through Wildcat Country...Troyella & Chaylor
1. Chapter 1: Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

**Title: **In True Wildcat Fashion

**Author: **demander-of-logic

**Disclaimer**: I do not own _High School Musical_, its affiliate characters, titles and plot lines, or any products and/or brands mentioned in the story to follow. Please do not sue – I got nuthin'.

**Author's Notes:** Hello, and welcome to the madness that is the mind of Demander-Of-Logic! This is my first _High School Musical_ fanfic – NOT my first fanfic _ever_. Just wanted to make that clear.

This is not a one-shot. There is actually a plot. I'm working on it chapter by chapter, so please be patient with me, _grazie_! Now! On to the story!

* * *

**_In True Wildcat Fashion_**  
Chapter One: Chocolate Chip Ice Cream

* * *

"I can't do this…I'm sorry, I have to go." 

She attempts to get up, but he grabs her hand, pulls her back down into her seat.

"No, please, don't leave, we need to talk. Why can't we talk? Like last year? Like _Twinkle Towne?_"

"This isn't _Twinkle Towne_. It's completely different." She does not look up, tucks a strand of long dark hair behind her ear. "_We're _completely different."

"But _why_? Why do _we_ have to be different? We're meant to be together, can't you see that?" His blue eyes desperately try to catch hers, searching for something he is not quite sure he can name.

She shakes her head emphatically, struggling to keep the tears from streaming down her face. "I...I did once. I'm not sure now."

"How can you not be _sure_? Gabi, this is – "

"Minnie."

"What?"

Gabriella Montez laughs aloud. "My name, _Arnold_, is _Minnie_. Not Gabi."

Troy Bolton groans aloud, slamming his head on the table. "I'm going to choke. This is the defining moment of my high school career and my head is _not_ in the game. I'll be the laughing stock of East High."

She laughs out loud, ruffling his hair affectionately. "Such a drama king."

Troy's head snaps up, and his amazing blue eyes widen. "Oh, no, please, anything but a drama king."

Gabriella grins and raises an eyebrow, setting her script down on the table. "Why not?"

"Because that's what the guys on the team call Ryan." He blushes sheepishly as she throws her head back and laughs the famous 'Gabriella laugh'.

The two young clique-breakers are sitting in Gabriella's dining room on a Sunday afternoon, practicing their lines for the Winter Musicale. The curtain is set to rise on Darbus' pet project in a little less than two weeks, and the male and female leads are getting more and more excited – and more nervous – with every passing day.

And before you ask, dear readers, no, Troy and Gabriella have _not_ acted on their obvious and intensifying feelings for each other.

Do not worry. All of East High is frustrated, too.

The two oblivious teenagers are the only ones who seem not to see their chemistry and attraction. They are also completely blind to the entire school's endeavors to unite the two – and to the betting pool the basketball team created to profit from predicting when and where the two would finally get together. Ten dollars a pop from the entire student body has built quite an impressive prize pool – nearly two thousand dollars stand to be gained.

"Fine, Wildcat then. You're going to blow them away. We both know it," she says, eyes sparkling with mirth, "So stop doubting yourself and accept your destiny!"

Troy laughs at her dramatic terminology. "Now who's the drama king?"

Gabriella simply rolls her eyes at him and glances up at the clock on the wall across from the table. 5:47. "Wow, it's almost six o'clock! Are you hungry?"

Troy's stomach growls loudly in answer, and Gabriella giggles again. "I guess that's a yes. Come on, Wildcat, let's go find something to eat."

"That's the best idea you've had all day," he teases, following her into the kitchen.

He is blown away, however, as he enters the room. "Whoa!"

She does not look up, continuing in her path towards the fridge. "What?"

"Gabriella, this kitchen is _amazing_!" That is an understatement. The kitchen is top of the line, all marble countertops, stone tile, frosted glass, cherry wood cabinets, and stainless steel state-of-the-art appliances.

Gabriella just shrugs. "My mom and I both love to cook. This kitchen is the reason we bought this house."

Troy whistles appreciatively. "I can see why. So, Miss Freaky Genius Girl Turned Gourmet Chef, what options have we for dinner?" He takes a seat at the island buffet, watching as Gabriella rummages through the shelves and drawers.

"Not much. My mom is out grocery shopping, after all. Ah-ha!" She triumphantly holds up a nearly empty bag of bread. "Sandwiches it is! Troy, check in the pantry and see if we have any potato chips or something." She gestures to the door directly behind him as she sets the bread on the island and begins pulling various sandwich materials out of the drawers.

Troy rolls his eyes when he opens the pantry; '_not much', my butt! They've got a whole Safeway in here!_ He spots a bag of Lays potato chips on one of the shelves and pulls it out. "Gabriella, if this is your cupboard bare, I'd love to see what it looks like fully stocked!"

Gabriella laughs again as she opens another set of cabinets and pulls out plastic plates and glasses, setting them on the island, too. "Go ahead and start making your sandwich. What can I say? We like being prepared for anything."

"I'll say." The cellophane bread bag rustles behind her, followed shortly by the sound of the plastic lunchmeat container popping open.

"What do you want to drink? We have water, iced tea, lemonade, practically every Pepsi product known to man…" Gabriella asks, returning to her position nearly inside the fridge.

"Water's fine, thanks." She grabs two bottles of water, shuts the door, turns around – and stops short. "_What_ are you _doing_?"

Troy looks up from where he's about to finish constructing his sandwich, confused. "Making a - "

"I know _what_ you're doing, why are you doing it like that?" She asks strangely, setting the water bottle down in front of him and reaching for her own plate, which bears two slices of bread already.

Troy looks down at his creation, a stacked masterpiece. It is layered twice: bread-ham-American-potato chips, then bread-ham-American-chips-bread, slathered with mustard. "Oh! I've always made my sandwiches this way. Even with peanut butter and jelly – I always had to have bananas and an extra piece of bread in there, too. I call it – "

"The Double Decker," Gabriella breathes, a smile spreading across her features.

Troy looks surprised. "Yeah, how'd you know?"

She giggles as she sits at the island beside him. "My dad makes his sandwiches in the _exact same way_. Right down to the potato chips and mustard."

The Wildcat superstar's eyebrows shoot up to his hairline. "Seriously?"

"Seriously! Troy, that's just plain freaky!" Gabriella laughs, taking a bite of her own turkey-and-Swiss-with-mayo sandwich. "My dad would die knowing someone else shares his strange and disturbing habits!"

He laughs, too, finishing his masterpiece and taking a bite. "Sounds like I should meet your dad. Where is he, anyway?"

Gabriella unscrews the lid of her water bottle. "Back in San Francisco. He and my mom split up when I was three because he was an alcoholic. My mom got custody of me when it all happened, since the court said my dad wasn't fit to be a father."

Troy swallows hard, instantly contrite. "Oh, god, Gabi, I'm sorry, I didn't – "

She waves a hand, smiling sweetly. "No, Troy, it's okay. My dad went to rehab, cleaned himself up. Now he and my mom are good friends. We moved out here with his blessing. He's a big part of my life - I still talk to him every day before school." She takes another bite and swallows. "I think you'll like my dad, Troy. He's coming out for the musical – he can't wait to meet you."

Troy grins his famous heart-stopping grin. "Your dad knows about me?" he asks, mentally cheering that she would tell her father about him. _Dude, she so likes me…_

Gabriella blushes prettily. "Um, well yeah. I had to tell him the whole story when I asked him to come down and see it. He was really excited for me – and for you, which reminds me that he told me to tell you congratulations. He wants to meet you and maybe take us to dinner to celebrate. Of course, he thinks – " She cuts her rambling off abruptly, blushing a tad darker.

Troy struggles to keep his grin from splitting his face in two. "He thinks…what?"

She takes a long gulp of her water. "Um, he kind of thinks we're dating." When he's silent for a second, she hurries to amend the situation. "I told him we weren't, but he didn't believe me. So I'm sorry in advance for his ideas and questions. I really did try to tell him that we were just friends, but – "

He laughs at her nervousness. "Gabi! It's okay, we'll just tell him otherwise when he gets down here, right?" He assures her, though inside he is screaming, _NO! Don't tell him otherwise, Bolton, ask her to be your girlfriend and prove him right!_

Gabriella is positively Wildcat red as she grins sheepishly. "Okay. Sorry, I tend to ramble when I get nervous or excited." _Of course, I wouldn't have to be nervous if we were boyfriend and girlfriend… _

Shaking the thought away, she brushes crumbs from her hands and stands back up, taking her plate with her. "Well, want some dessert? We have ice cream."

Troy grins as he polishes off the last bit of his gigantic sandwich. "Do you really have to ask?"

She giggles. "No, I guess not." She takes his plate and places it in the sink beside hers, then turns to pull two bowls from another cabinet. "Strawberry, vanilla, or chocolate chip?"

He grins wider. "Yes please."

Gabriella rolls her eyes and proceeds to take out all three cartons of the frozen confection out of the freezer. "You're going to weigh four hundred pounds when you get older, did you know that?"

"Hey, I'm an athlete! With a high metabolism! I gotta eat to stay awake!" he defends himself, taking the spoon she hands him and dishing out a huge scoop of each flavor into his bowl.

Gabriella groans good-naturedly, taking her own scoop of chocolate chip and smothering it with Hershey's chocolate sauce. "Oh, god, that's frustrating," she mock-bemoans, shivering a little as the ice cream slides coolly down her throat.

"But you love me anyway," he says, only half-teasing. He covers his blush by eating a spoonful of strawberry.

She reddens, too, biting the inside of her mouth to keep from agreeing wholeheartedly. "Yeah, yeah," she grumbles around her mouthful of ice cream. Then she grins and proceeds to lick the remaining hints of chocolate syrup from her spoon. "Mmm. I'd forgotten how much I love chocolate chip ice cream." She closes her eyes as she takes another bite, grinning with pleasure. "Yep, pure heaven."

When she opens her eyes, however, she is stunned to see Troy watching her intently. She blushes even more, quickly covering her mouth with her hand. "Oh god, do I have ice cream on my face or something?" When he is still silent, she quickly rubs at her nose, seeking to wipe off the offending dairy product. "Troy, did I – "

"I'm still hungry," Troy announces suddenly, catching Gabriella off guard. She raises an eyebrow, temporarily forgetting about possible ice cream smears.

"You're already finished with all that ice cream?" she asks incredulously, and Troy nods mutely as she sees that he is indeed done. "Well, the kitchen's open to you, Troy, feel free to help yourself to anything you want," she says as she stands up, picks up her bowl.

His intense gaze never waivers. "Anything?"

She nods. "Sure, why not? Unless you want raw meat or something, but I don't think you – "

He cuts her off by pressing his lips to hers.

Her words die on her lips as she sets the bowl back on the counter and instantly throws her arms around his neck, kissing back without a second thought. He in turn stands up, never breaking their liplock as he wraps his arms around her tiny waist and gets a better angle on her mouth. _I take it back…this is pure heaven._

A few moments later, Gabriella pulls back, flushed and dazed, her eyes glowing as she opens them. "…Wow," she whispers breathlessly, unconsciously biting down lightly on her thoroughly kissed lower lip. "I guess you weren't hungry for more food then…"

Troy chuckles a little, his gaze alternating between her eyes and her mouth. He brushes a strand of her curly dark hair out of her eyes before returning his hand to its position around her waist.

He rests his forehead against hers, grinning gently. "I wanted chocolate chip ice cream," he whispers, before capturing her lips again in a smiley kiss that tastes of strawberries and chocolate chips.

_I guess we can tell Dad he was right..._

* * *

About ten miles away, Chad Danforth wakes up abruptly from napping on his homework, sits bolt upright, a huge grin stretching from ear to ear. 

He may not have the best timing, but his senses of prediction and intuition are exceptional.

He is now nearly two thousand dollars richer.

* * *

**A/N**: If you like, please review! Constructive criticism only, please - flames will be fed to my killer cat. ;-) No pairs bashing! Stay tuned for **Chapter Two: In Theory**. _Arrivederci! _

-DoL


	2. Chapter 2: In Theory

**Title: **In True Wildcat Fashion

**Author: **demander-of-logic

**Disclaimer**: I STILL do not own _High School Musical_, its affiliate characters, titles and plot lines, or any products and/or brands mentioned in the story to follow. All I own: a copy of the soundtrack, a copy of the DVD, and some seriously awesome icons. No seriously. They're the shiznit.

**Author's Notes:** Hi again! Demander-of-Logic here, wishing you and yours a very Happy Thanksgiving. As a token of my goodwill: Chapter Two! This chapter was written a little bit differently than Chapter One, as I'm sure you'll be able to tell, but I'm proud of it!

OH! A question: **Anyone interested in teasers from the upcoming chapters? I'll throw in one at the base of this chapter; if the response is positive, more teasers! If not, no more! Ooh, lookie, review incentive!**

On to Chapter Two!

* * *

_**In True Wildcat Fashion**  
Chapter Two: In Theory  
_

* * *

Gabriella pulls up to school in her little blue Honda Accord, unable to keep herself from grinning wildly. She's earlier than usual to school – she'd received a text message from a certain Wildcat telling her to meet him at "their secret spot" before school started. So here she is. 

She smiles up at the roof as she gets out of her car, shouldering her messenger bag. She can just barely see the top of the canvas roof, and the cool morning breeze brushing against her face is fragrant with the scent of orange blossoms and gardenia.

She locks the doors and quickly runs inside the school, eager to get out of the windy cold. Once inside, she rushes up the stairs to the roof.

Halfway up, she realizes Troy can probably hear her coming, but she smiles goofily, not caring one tiny bit. She hurries even faster, anxious to see her gorgeous boyfriend…

_They had made out in her kitchen until her mom had come home. Abigail Montez had been surprisingly calm when she had encountered the two amorous teenagers, who had broken apart immediately in mortification. _

_Ms. Montez had merely set her paper grocery bags on the counter beside a brilliantly blushing Gabriella, who had somehow ended up seated on the marble countertop. She had then smiled at a beet-red Troy and asked him to help her put away the groceries, since he would most likely be coming around a lot more now and would need to know where things were._

Gabriella smiles at the memory as she opens the door to the roof and scales the final flight of stairs. Once again, Troy is leaning against the railing above her head, and her grin widens as she catches sight of him.

She is suddenly very shy as she comes around the corner, pulling her coat tighter around her. Albuquerque is experiencing another cold spell, complete with a forecast of snow, and up here it seems even colder. But somehow, she does not mind.

Troy grins at her as she stops in front of him, wearing a matching grin. "Hey there."

"Hey." She replies shyly, rocking back and forth on the balls of her feet. They stand there in uncomfortable silence for a moment, before Gabriella giggles. "Could this be any more awkward?"

He laughs, too. "Yes. C'mere, I brought you something." The tension broken, Gabriella follows him to the little black picnic bench, which bears his backpack.

He picks it up and motions for her to take a seat down beside him as he unzips the bag. "I figured that if I'm going to ask you to meet me up here, I should have something to make up for the cold." He pulls out two travel mugs as Gabriella claps her hands.

"Starbucks?" she squeals, taking the green and white mug from him. She quickly flips open the black lid and inhales the smell of the drink. "Mmm, cappuccino – you're the best boyfriend ever." She takes a sip and sighs contentedly. "Thank you."

Troy grins. "No problem. Speaking of that – " He leans over and catches her off-guard with a kiss. Pulling away, he licks remnants of cappuccino foam from his lips and smiles softly. "Hi.'

She smiles back, eyes sparkling. "Hi yourself. So what's the plan for today?"

He swallows a mouthful of his own hot beverage. "You mean what do we tell everyone?" She nods, and he sighs. "I don't know…I'm sure the whole school will know by lunch time if we tell Chad and Taylor…so…"

"…We shouldn't tell Chad and Taylor," she finishes, grinning broadly. "A secret relationship, how very Arnold and Minnie!"

He smirks wryly. "Ah, yes. Because we're forbidden lovers who only meet openly when masked and on stage." His smirk widens into a full Troy smile as she laughs her famous laugh. "Speaking of that, how are you and Kelsi doing with costumes?"

"We're supposed to be working on them in free period. We're almost done with the basic sewing, but we need to work on finishing, and we need to schedule fittings. And the sets! The sets are nowhere near done." She groans, rubs her temples with her fingertips. "It's a _nightmare_. Pretty much the only sets done are the backdrop for the last scene of _Twinkle Towne_, the moon, and the god-awful tree."

He snickers into his coffee. "I can't believe there's a talking tree in this play. And here I thought Kelsi boycotted Disney."

She slaps his leg, causing him to spill a little of the hot beverage as he laughs. "Be nice! We had this conversation last week - she's probably never seen _Pocahontas_! Besides, the Incredible Mr. Schain is _absolutely_ nothing like Grandmother Willow!"

"Hey, I've got nothing against Disney! Heck, Disney's pretty darn awesome! But the talking natural objects are a distinctly Disneyesque twist."

Gabriella rolls her eyes. "Fine. The writer of _Twinkle Towne_ - the play within our play - completely stole the idea from Disney. Call Michael Eisner. Tell him he needs to sue a fictional playwright." She yelps suddenly as Troy abruptly takes her coffee mug from her hands. "Troy!"

"Uh-uh, that's enough hot caffeine for you, Miss Montez. Your acerbic wit is beginning to shine through that shy exterior, and I'm sorry, but you can't be freakishly smart, beautiful, artistically talented, _and _clever. It's not fair to the rest of the world," he teases, standing up and holding the mug over his head.

Gabi pouts, unable to reach the mug even by jumping up and down. "Trooooooy, that's not _faaaaaair_. Please give it back?" She puts on her trademarked big-brown-eyed-puppy-dog-pout. "Puh-weese?"

Troy stands his ground. "Nope. You have to do something for me first."

She folds her arms, raises an eyebrow. "Like what?"

Instead of answering, he pulls her into a kiss with his one free hand. She rolls her eyes and kisses him back, unable to keep from smiling.

"You're incorrigible," she whispers, still smiling as they break apart. He grins.

"Maybe, but you love me anyway, remember?" He chuckles as she snatches the coffee mug from his hand.

She merely rolls her eyes and takes another sip of her drink. "Come on, Wildcat. Let's get downstairs before people start to talk," she remarks as she begins to walk down the stairs. He grins and shoulders his backpack before following her.

Just before they walk out of the stairwell, however, Gabriella stops short and whirls around. Troy has to skid to a stop to avoid running into her. "What?"

She grins and reaches up behind his head to pull him down into one more kiss. Breaking away, she smiles sweetly at his stunned expression. "Yeah, I love you. I just wanted you to know that before we start denying everything."

Troy smiles goofily. "Well, hey, I love you too. And remember, I don't mean _anything _I say when I say we're not together and I don't like you."

Gabriella nods, unable to resist one last little kiss. "Ditto. I'll be crossing my fingers the whole time. Okay, well, here we go." He grins as she suddenly wipes the sexy, loving smile from her face and replaces it with a cute, unassuming grin. "Ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be." He hides his own smile behind a neutral expression and then follows her out the door, preparing himself for anything.

However, nothing could have prepared him for what they see as they step out of the stairwell.

There, pressed up against her locker, are Taylor and Chad, making out unabashedly.

Troy and Gabriella just stare for a moment, before looking at each other. Twin evil grins spread across their features, and Troy motions for Gabriella to go to one side of the oblivious couple while he takes the other. She struggles not to giggle as she obeys, and once in position, Troy mouths a countdown.

_3…2…1 –_ They both kick the lockers as hard as they possibly can, resulting in a bone-rattling _BANG_!

The amorous couple jumps apart, both swearing like sailors. Gabriella bursts out laughing as Troy smirks at his best friend. "Early start today, you two. I think this may be a new Chaylor record!"

Chad glares as Taylor presses a hand to her throat. "Well, thanks to you two, we're nowhere near breaking our record for longest time without breaking to breathe."

Gabriella raises an eyebrow at her best friend, who has the good grace to blush. "I told him that in theory, one could kiss for hours without stopping with proper breathing technique."

"_In theory_," Gabriella echoes/emphasizes, as she can see Troy's eyebrows rising out of the corner of her eye. "One would have to first practice and perfect the proper breathing technique to even test the theory."

"We've been testing various methods, but we keep getting _interrupted_. But enough about _us_," Chad says, waggling his eyebrows comically. "What about you two? My spider-sense is tingling, y'all, something happened between you over the weekend." Taylor smirks and folds her arms across her chest, as if to say _spill_.

Gabriella forces herself not to blush, adopting instead a very innocent expression. "Why would something have happened between us, Chad?" she asks angelically. Troy can practically see her halo – _skewed as it may be. _He coughs to cover his silly smile.

This catches the two busybodies off-guard, and Taylor stands up straight. "You mean, you two _didn't_ hook up?"

Troy and Gabriella exchange glances before forcing themselves to burst out laughing. "We'd have to like each other for that to happen!" Troy chuckles, crossing his fingers behind his back.

"Yeah, guys, we're just friends. We've told you that before." Gabriella adds, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.

Chad's eyebrows meet his hairline. "You're serious? Nothing happened?"

The two musically inclined juniors shake their heads.

He snaps his fingers in frustration. "Dammit, there goes my two thousand bu-"

Taylor's hand on his mouth and the simultaneous ringing of the warning bell cut him off before he can reveal the school-wide secret. Thankfully oblivious as ever, Troy and Gabriella take the opportunity to escape further questioning. They begin to make their way towards the homeroom door, their two amorous comrades close behind.

* * *

About ten minutes later, Miss Darbus struts into Room 440-B like she owns the place – which, in a way, she does. 

It is her drama-themed homeroom, and Darbus' own personal style covers the room in brilliantly colored heavy fabrics and metallic paints, large sparkling jewels and silky trims. The room, however, is the only thing she can control. The seating arrangement often changes on the students' whim.

Like today, for example.

The drama teacher had been 'fortunate' enough to receive the four best players on the famous basketball team in her homeroom, as well as the three stars of the drama club (though one would not shine as bright) and the co-presidents of the Chem Club. Now, this fact is further understated by the new seating arrangement.

The only five of her superstar cast not to have moved are Troy, Chad, Sharpay, Ryan, and Kelsi. Now, Gabriella sits to Troy's left, while Taylor sits in the seat behind her, which is directly next to Chad. Previously she had sat next to Zeke, who has moved to the far right front seat to sit next to his girlfriend Sharpay and was followed by Jason, who now sits next to his new friend Ryan but also directly in front of his crush Kelsi.

Miss Darbus' eyes are crossing as she attempts to sort things out. She finally gives up and takes a long sip of her coffee with 'cream' (better known to the rest of the world as Bailey's premium malt beverage). She is still waiting for two more students to enter, and thus takes the opportunity to prepare herself for the day while observing from her throne.

Troy and Gabriella are in their own little world, talking and laughing quietly. Sharpay and Zeke are exchanging recipes while Ryan and Kelsi are conversing animatedly about theatrical proceedings; Jason alternates between listening and stealing furtive glances at Kelsi. Taylor and Chad, however…

Darbus sets down her coffee mug with a longing gaze as the last two of her homeroom students enter (moments before the bell) and take their newly assigned seats. She then stands. "Good morning, class. I trust everyone had a relaxing and refreshing weekend."

Everyone makes noncommittal noises of agreement or dissent, the people who were standing taking their seats and getting situated. Darbus then notices the only two students not conforming to appropriate classroom behavior. The Chem Club president and Wildcat starting Forward are once again making out, Taylor seated comfortably on Chad's desk.

She groans aloud as Troy and Gabriella cast knowing glances at each other. "You know Taylor. Always trying to prove or disprove a theory," Gabriella whispers, and Troy covers a laugh with a cough.

"Mister Danforth! Miss McKessie! If you two are quite finished playing tonsil hockey, we could begin our lesson!"

Both swear as they break apart, and Darbus' eyes go wide. "I will not have such language in my classroom! Sixty minutes detention for the both of you!" Chad and Taylor merely shrug as she returns to her seat.

Troy and Gabriella snicker, causing Darbus' hawkeyed stare to swivel to them. "Mister Bolton! Miss Montez! I see nothing funny about this!"

"Damn right you don't," Troy proclaims, and Gabriella laughs aloud as the overdramatic teacher's eyes bulge behind her glasses.

"That's sixty minutes for the two of you as well! Does anyone else want to participate in the bloodbath?!"

No one dares to look up at the seething dramatist; they all know that to make eye contact with Darbus-on-a-rampage would turn a student to stone.

"Good! Then I will see the four of _you_ in detention after school! Now, we pick up where we left off on Friday. Open your books to page 340 and we'll begin. William Shakespeare was an English playwright…" As the school day begins, Troy and Gabriella exchange little grins.

The Wildcats are in for an interesting afternoon, _indeed._

* * *

**A/N**: Preeeeeetty purple buuuuutton. Click-n-type! Only takes a second! Remember: no flames, constructive criticism ONLY! This rule is STRICTLY ENFORCED! I will send the FLAME POLICE to your HOUSE! To EAT ALL YOUR THANKSGIVING LEFTOVERS! All the gobble-gobble! All the mashed 'taters! All the crescent rolls! And the cute little Pillsbury Doughboy that serves them! Uh-huh, that's right, I'm hardcore. Hoo-hoo! 

Well, anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter: **A Passion For The Arts**. _Arrivederci! _

-DoL

PS: As promised, the **teaser:**

"_All alone in your house? Can I trust you, Wildcat?"_


	3. Chapter 3: A Passion For The Arts

**Title: **In True Wildcat Fashion

**Author: **demander-of-logic

**Disclaimer**: Still don't own anything. Nothing but some totally awesome Tilt Jeans from PacSun and a belt from Fossil that rocks my socks…hmm…anyway. Moving on.

**Author's Notes:** Guess who:-D Hi guys, I'm back! With a brand new chappie, heck yes! Now consider this a warning – time starts speeding up in the upcoming chapters, as does the maturity level of this fic. Just…be prepared, y'all.

**Thank-Yous:** Here are the shout-outs to everyone who's reviewed this story so far! Thanks to Alyssa, ArtificialDonkey, Bayleigh Larsen, Blebo92, ChasingGhosts, Choolio, freakymathgirl, gabriellahsm, harry-fan14, iluvTHEBLEU, inyourfridge, Larry, luvschaylor4ever, missB-real, Purplgurl, Riddle-Me-That, Sharpay's Grandma., SimpleeLovely673, TheFabMax, xbrokenreality, and ZanessaFan101!

And a special thank-you to those who have left multiple reviews: bloomingauthor7, breakingxfree14, carito06, FCHS-HSMPrincess, Lucas-Grabeel-Fan, CheekyBabe101, and WoundedSparrow – thanks, you guys! It's totally awesome knowing y'all like this enough to review and RE-review!

**Dedications: **This goes out to Sophie and Shadow – my two new little kitties! Everybody say 'awwww' – and thank them, since they're the reason this new chapter is up! And a special dedication to TheFabMax, who wrote a one-shot (Christmas Kisses) in my honor! Everyone go leave her some totally awesome comments!

Okay, enough pleasantries. Without further ado – Chapter Three!

* * *

_**In True Wildcat Fashion  
**__Chapter Three: A Passion For The Arts_

* * *

"It's always so encouraging to see young people developing a passion for the arts," Darbus snipes as she leads the four 'delinquents' into the auditorium. "This is the second time in two months, for all four of you – I suppose I should feel honored." 

An interesting afternoon, all right. The Fantastic Four exchange nervous glances as they follow the drama teacher onto the stage.

"All right, Mr. Danforth, Miss McKessie, since you both are so eager to, as you say, experiment, I shall give you free license! Miss McKessie, you will be painting in the outlines of the backdrops. Feel free to use your judgment for color. And you, Mr. Danforth, will be building the framework for her backdrops."

Chad takes on an excited expression, but Darbus is quick to wipe it off his face. "And before you get any wild ideas, no, you will not be allowed to use any power tool that has the words 'gun' or 'saw' in its title. In fact, you are restricted to the use of a cordless power drill. The remainder of your tools will be manually powered." He begins to protest, but she again cuts him off. "And no, there will be no exception for good behavior, increased productivity, or, as you would say, 'freaking awesome power tool skills'."

Chad begins to pout and stomps off in the direction that she points in. She then turns around and simply glares at Taylor, who hurries to take her place on the ladder beside the massive backdrop.

"And now for you two. Miss Montez, you will continue work on the costumes Kelsi has so graciously begun. Seeing as you and Mr. Bolton are the only two cast members present, we shall have to schedule fittings at a later date, since it would be inappropriate to have a young man take a young woman's measurements and vice versa." The soprano and the tenor blush and hurry to follow her directions, not daring to talk to each other.

"Now, I have some important theatrical matters to attend to in my office. I will return shortly – don't even think about shirking your work to converse. I have no idea how long I will be gone, and if I return to find any of you in talks, you will all be in detention until your _children_ graduate!" With that slightly unrealistic threat, she tosses her shawl over her shoulder, takes a long sip of her water, and stalks out of the auditorium with a flourish.

The four exchange disbelieving glances, but do not dare disobey. They all quietly begin their work.

Troy and Gabriella drag their feet a little, however. Making sure that their two partners in crime are not watching, he grins and winks at her, whispering the words, "So far so good!"

She winks back, and also after checking the status of their friends, gives him a thumbs-up. _"_Only 57 more minutes of this_," _she whispers back, and after one more check, flashes the 'I love you' sign before beginning her work with enthusiasm.

He grins goofily and begins his own work with renewed vigor. _Only 57 more minutes._

* * *

Forty-five minutes later, that vigor and enthusiasm has disappeared entirely. 

In its place, complete and total inability to sit still.

Troy's foot is tapping to a wild staccato beat as he swipes paint across the Twinkle Towne backdrop, and Gabriella has developed a sort of uneven twitch in her fingers, causing them to drum against the sewing table at erratic intervals.

Chad, who is building a dividing wall out of plywood, and Taylor, who is painting a backdrop resembling a dressing room, exchange glances.

Chad raises his eyebrows. _Something DID happen between those two last night. I WANT my two thousand dollars._

Taylor's forehead wrinkles. _Are you sure about that?_

_Troy is not a fidgety guy_, say his eyebrows. _He's holding something in, and it's escaping through…his feet. Don't ask me why._

_Well, Gabriella is normally pretty calm, too,_ responds her forehead. _She's the picture of composure most of the time. Now it's like she's bursting to do something._

_Yeah, like her boyfriend._

_Eyebrows!_

_Forehead!_

Miss Darbus strides in suddenly, interrupting the facial features' silent debate. "Mr. Bolton! Miss Montez!"

Troy jumps in surprise, his paintbrush clattering to the floor in a splatter of dark blue paint. Gabriella yelps, nearly sewing her finger into the rose-colored costume she's sewing. "Yes Miss Darbus!" They both respond immediately, a certain level of fear evident in their voices.

"Center stage, both of you."

Taylor and Chad exchange glances again as the other two hustle to meet her demands. Once in the center, Miss Darbus looks at them over the rims of her cat-eye glasses. "You two are fairly secure in your line memorization, correct?"

Gabriella looks confused while Troy raises an eyebrow. "Y-yes, ma'am, we still have some work to do, but we're secure."

"Good. Then recite for me Act Two, Scene One, beginning from Minnie's entrance from Stage Right. We're going to begin blocking."

They grin at each other, and Gabriella scurries off into the wings. Troy commandeers the chair from her sewing table and pulls it to center stage, artistically draping himself over it.

Darbus walks down the stairs and takes a seat in the front row of the auditorium. She takes a sip of her newly refilled 'water' (also known as Absolut vodka), and waves her hand. "Begin!"

"ARNOLD CALDER!"

Arnold/Troy starts upright, falling out of his chair and hitting the floor with a loud THUMP! "Jeez!"

Minnie/Gabriella storms into onto the stage, waving a sheet of paper wildly. "Care to explain this?" she growls, shoving the crumpled paper into his surprised face.

"Well, to explain it I'd have to see it," he grumbles, taking it from her and pulling it away from his face. "What exactly is this?"

"_This_ is a copy of your letter to McQueen! Why in the _world_ would you steal my dressing room? Do you _really_ dislike me _that much_?" She snatches the paper right back, glaring daggers at him. "What do you gain from taking my dressing room, anyway?"

He smirks, brushing himself off and reclaiming his seat. "It gets under your skin, Fox. That's more than enough for me." He leans back in the chair, clasping his hands behind his neck. "Plus, it's the nearest dressing room to the stage, and apparently I miss all my cues, so I told McQueen that it would significantly increase my performance both onstage and off to be closest to the stage."

She growls again, clenching her fists. "Ooh, you're insufferable!"

He ignores his racing heart and her sexy little noise and chuckles, standing up and walking over to her. She bites her lip as he towers over her, cursing the way her body responds to his proximity. "Thank you."

"That wasn't a compliment," she hisses as he shifts a little closer to her, his intense blue eyes sparkling. "It was an _insult_, you self-centered, narcissistic, atrocious, egotistical, conceited b-"

In the script, Arnold cuts Minnie off with a kiss. In the script, she kisses him back for a moment before pulling away. In the script, she runs off stage.

Gabriella and Troy apparently don't remember any of this. He cups her face in his hands, she grips his shirt in her hands and pulls him closer.

Taylor drops her paintbrush. Chad hits his thumb with his hammer and stifles a loud obscene outburst. Miss Darbus clears her throat. "Um, excellent, that's – "

"**GABRIELLA!**"

Gabriella yelps, abruptly snapping out of her daydream as a voice shouts in her ear.

"WHAT?" she almost shouts, suddenly incredibly thankful that she had not been sewing anything on the machine. Chad, Taylor and Troy all smirk at her.

"Welcome back to Earth," Chad teases. Gabriella turns bright red as Troy simply raises an eyebrow at her. She shakes her head and casts a glance up at the clock, shocked when it reads nearly six.

Taylor crosses her arms across her chest. "Darbus said we're free to go. Unless your 'passion for the arts' is so great that you'd rather stay here and –"

"NO!" She nearly shrieks, jumping to her feet and nearly knocking over her chair. The other three laugh as she quickly attempts to calm down. "I mean, no. I want to go home, let's get out of here." She grabs her stuff from beneath the sewing table and begins to walk ahead of them. "You guys coming?" She calls over her shoulder, tossing her brown hair out of her eyes.

They do not have to be asked twice. They all follow her out of the theater as fast as they can, not once looking back for fear of Darbus reeling them back in.

"Man, I told you she was an alien!" Chad states as the four make their way down the empty hallways, clapping his best friend on the shoulder. "She's crazy!"

Troy merely shrugs, sneaking a glance at Gabriella, who is conversing animatedly with Taylor. "It wasn't so bad, dude. It could have been way worse – remember the tree incident?"

Chad pales, and instinctively reaches up to rub his nose. "Two hours in that thing…fifteen minutes, my butt…"

Troy laughs loudly, momentarily interrupting the girls' quiet dialogue. After grinning at their respective boys' antics, Gabriella and Taylor return to their conversing.

"So what were you thinking about, Miss Montez? You were pretty spaced back there," Taylor whispers, a conspiratorial grin on her face.

Gabriella shakes her head. "I was thinking about one of the scenes Troy and I have been practicing." She fights not to blush. "It's…going to be an interesting scene to perform."

The Chem Club president rolls her eyes. "Why, do you have to kiss him or something?"

Gabriella grins sheepishly. "Well, as a matter of fact – " she is cut off by Taylor's very un-Taylor-like shriek.

"You _do_? Girl, why didn't you tell me this sooner?" She squeals, gripping her best friend's hand. "This is fantastic! Maybe you two will actually figure yourselves out!"

The songbird rolls her eyes. "Taylor. I've told you this. A hundred times. We – "

Taylor throws up her hands. "Don't like each other. Right, right. I know. Fine. Stay in denial."

"I am not in denial!" Gabriella laughs, causing Taylor to groan and let go of her hand.

"You're hopeless. Are you ready to go, Lunkhead?" she says, turning back to the two laughing boys.

Chad grins at his girlfriend, instantly stepping to her side. "Ready as I'll ever be, Brainiac."

"So where are you two going?" Gabriella asks casually, but Troy can see right through her angelic demeanor and polite inquisition. _Translation: where are you two going, so we know not to go there?_ He fights a silly grin as the couple before them begins backing away slowly.

Both blush profusely. "Um, we're going to the movies, actually," Taylor mumbles, stepping towards her little green Camry. "We were going to see that new movie with Sarah Michelle Gellar."

Troy raises an eyebrow. "The _Albuquerque Chronicle_ gave that movie half a star. They said it was three hours too long and had absolutely no plot whatsoever. Why do you two want to go see it?"

Gabriella answers for them with a smirk. "It's the perfect make-out movie. They don't miss anything, and they don't risk being interrupted or walked in on."

Taylor glowers at her best friend as Troy bursts out laughing, and Chad just grins sheepishly as he opens the door to his black Jeep. "So, anyway…Taylor, we should get going, ya know, so we don't miss any promos or…anything…"

His girlfriend shoots one last dagger-glare at a smug Gabriella before turning back to her car. "I'll meet you there, Chad." She gets into her sedan, starts it and begins to back up.

But before she pulls away, she rolls down her window and smirks at Gabriella. "Have fun rehearsing, Minnie!" she grins, laughing when Gabriella goes red and begins stammering. Before the brunette can formulate a response, Taylor drives away, still laughing.

Troy and Chad shoot confused glances at a sputtering, blushing Gabriella. "Care to explain that one, Montez?" Chad asks, and Gabriella can only seethe and shake her head.

The bushy-haired boy merely rolls his eyes. "Whatever. Have fun, you two. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. Troy, I'll call you later tonight, dude. Later, Gabriella." He then jumps into his Jeep and burns rubber exiting the almost-empty parking lot.

The minute the two cars are out of sight, Troy and Gabriella turn towards each other – and begin making out shamelessly.

"Longest 57 minutes of my life," he mutters against her lips as he buries his fingers in her hair.

"Mmmn, no kidding," she murmurs in return, draping her arms around his neck and allowing him to pull her into his embrace. "All I could think about was – this…" she stumbles as she steps off the curb, falling backwards onto the hood of his Wildcat-red Mustang convertible.

He catches her before she falls, gently guiding her back into a seated position on the hood. She in turn grips fistfuls of his black t-shirt in her hands, pulling him closer. Not once do they break their kiss.

"You were killing me," he says when they finally break for air, "with the lip biting and the stretching…"

She giggles, sliding her hands up his chest to clasp behind his head. "I figured. Every time I did you dropped your paintbrush."

He grins, resting his forehead against hers. "So why did you keep doing it?"

She grins back. "Because you kept responding so beautifully."

"You're evil."

"Only when I'm around you."

They laugh as she slides off the hood of the fast car and takes his hand. "Now come on. We've got a lot of practicing to do. Let's meet back at my house."

He grins as she begins leading him to the driver's side of his car. "And what exactly do we need to practice, Miss Montez?" he chuckles as she opens the door and practically shoves him into the car.

She adopts an innocent expression as he starts the car. "Hmm…I don't know…I was thinking Act Two, Scene One needs some work."

He wrinkles his forehead in confusion. "Arnold and Minnie's dressing room argument? Why would that need – "

Troy cuts himself off as he realizes just _exactly_ why she would want to practice that scene. His eyes widen and he grins wildly. "_Oh_…okay, I'll meet you at your house in fifteen minutes."

She laughs as he revs the engine. "Sounds like a plan. See you there." His tires squeal as he peels out of the parking lot, and a few seconds later, she is right behind him, just as anxious as he to begin an evening of...extensive practice.

Gabriella is unable to keep from grinning as she drives home, fingers drumming against the steering wheel in time with the radio.

_Remind me to thank Kelsi for writing Act Two, Scene One..._

* * *

Well? Any good? You like? Review for more! 

Hmm? What's that? …It's missing something, you say? What do you mean?

-winks- Don't worry, the spoiler from Chapter Two takes place in next time...in Chapter Four: **Torture**. Stay tuned and review, add to favorites for updates!

OH YEAH! Shameless plug: have a Myspace? Go to my profile here on FanFiction and click on my Homepage. Add me as a friend for bulletin updates about this story, as well as previews and promos about other stories!

Have a Happy New Year!

-d-o-l-


	4. Chapter 4: Torture

**Title: **In True Wildcat Fashion

**Author: **demander-of-logic

**Disclaimer**: Still don't own it. I own the plot of this story. And a couple posters, some CDs, 2 DVDs, a few magazines, and a rubber duckie named Gabriella. Yes. I named my rubber duckie after her. She has Gabriella eyelashes. I also own another little duckie. I named her Einsteinette. Hee! Visit my MySpace for pics, LOL!

**Author's Notes:** Speaking of MySpace!

http :// www . myspace . com / wildaceofhearts7 (minus spaces, of course!)  
all the info on _In True Wildcat Fashion_!

**LOGICITY: The Home of Everything D-O-L**

Pictures, plot bunnies, blogs, merch contests, and previews of upcoming stories!  
Friends who have reviewed the story also become members of the preferred list-  
Giving them special access to previews of d-o-l's next chapter story, _Finding Mr. Darcy_!  
Demand logic – friend Logicity today!  
(Can you tell demander-of-logic is desperate for friends here?)

Yeah, anyway. Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter, your support and reviews have greatly helped me through a difficult time in my life. So this is dedicated to ALL CHAPTER 3 REVIEWERS! May your New Year be fantastic!

And now! The long-awaited, anticipated – Chapter Four!

* * *

**WARNING**: citrus ahead.  
Flavors: **_lime; insinuation of lemon_**  
Nothing explicit, just implication.  
_For my definitions of citrus, visit my profile._

* * *

**_In True Wildcat Fashion_**_  
Chapter Four: Torture _

* * *

"So good to be seen, so good to be heard – don't have to say a word." 

Gabriella wanders around her room aimlessly Saturday afternoon, eyes and attention entirely focused on the piece of paper marked What I've Been Looking For she clutches in her hand. She smirks a little, remembering the last time she heard the song – albeit a much more sugary, bubble-gummy version of the song.

"For so long I was lost, so good to be found – I'm lovin' having you around," she sings softly, twirling a strand of curly dark hair between her fingers.

Her phone begins chiming a familiar tune from her nightstand, breaking her concentration. She grins widely before ever picking up the phone. _God bless ringtones._ She takes the Blackberry in her hand and smiles at the picture on the screen as she answers.

"Shouldn't you be practicing for state?" she teases, falling back on her mattress.

She cannot see his grin, but her heart still flutters. "I was. But I'm finished now, and I would really like to see my beautiful, talented freaky genius girlfriend, if at all possible."

She giggles. "I don't know, Troy. What would your dad do if he thought I was taking you from your practice time?"

"My dad is in Santa Fe for the day. He, Darbus, and a bunch of other teachers are trying to get the State Education Board to sign some proposal – which will take hours. He won't be back until late tonight. And my mom is still visiting my aunt in Boston, so I'm over here all alone in this big empty house. Lonely and bored and sorely behind in memorizing my lines_,"_ he teases, but Gabriella feels a familiar heat pool in the pit of her stomach at the implications of his words.

"All alone in your house? Can I trust you, Wildcat?"

She can practically hear his blue eyes sparkling. "What do you think?"

"Be right over."

* * *

Ten minutes later, Gabi walks up in front of Troy's sprawling split-level house. "This feelin's like no other, I want you to know…" she sings under her breath as she walks onto the porch and rings the bell. "That I've never had someone that knows me like you do – " 

"The way you do!" Troy chimes in as he throws open the door, grinning widely at her. She cannot help but grin back as she steps inside.

"Hey," she says almost breathlessly, standing on her tiptoes to kiss him hello.

He grins and kisses her back, shutting the door against the wind. "Hey yourself. Come on, my script's in my room." He begins to climb the stairs. Gabriella hesitates for a moment before following him to a room at the end of the open bridge.

"So I figured we could work on the last two acts of the play, since we seem to have a pretty good handle on the first two," Troy proposes as he walks into his room and flips on the light.

Gabriella begins to say something, but her words die in her throat as she enters the room. "Oh my god, Troy!"

The room is _enormous_, painted a warm navy blue with white accents. A huge king bed takes up the wall to their left; on the same wall is a sleek wood and oak desk bearing a computer monitor. The wall directly across from the door is all windows; a set of French doors in the middle of the wall lead out onto a deck. On the wall opposite the bed, a huge flatscreen television takes up almost the entire upper portion of the wall. Two speakers are situated on floor stands on either side of the screen, and a series of cabinets are mounted on the wall below it. Framed, artsy black-and-white photos of empty basketball courts are on either side of the screen, as well.

On the same wall as the door to his room, a door leads to what she presumes is his closet; between both doors is a bookcase filled with expensive-looking books. In the center of the room, directly in front of them, are two comfortable looking easy chairs, a coffee table and a loveseat, facing the television. And scattered around the room are various shelves, all bearing the same things: medals, ribbons, trophies, awards, and picture frames, all basically shouting his athletic prowess.

"This is _your_ room?" she breathes, walking as if in a trance towards the couch.

He grins sheepishly, rubbing at the back of his neck. "Yeah, pretty much."

"Troy, this is _amazing_!" Gabriella makes her way to a shelf beside his bed, amazed by all the awards. One in particular catches her eye.

She picks up the bronze statuette and turns to him with a raised eyebrow. "You play football?"

He shrugs, walking over with one hand in his pocket. "Played, past tense. Freshman and sophomore year. I was toying with the idea of playing this past year, but when I was made captain of the basketball team, I let that one go."

Troy takes the shiny brass trophy in his hand. "I sort of wish I hadn't. I liked football. Still do – although my dad would probably disown me if I ever admitted to it," he adds wryly, and Gabriella takes the trophy back, replaces it on the shelf.

"Well, he let you become a musical singer person," she says, wrapping her arms around his waist. "And he let you start dating me." She smiles up at him lovingly. "Who knows? He may let you play football, too. Zeke does it – and he somehow has time to bake and date Sharpay, too."

Troy groans and rolls his eyes. "And god knows that's a time-consuming job right there."

Gabriella slaps his chest affectionately. "Hush! Sharpay's our friend now. And Zeke's been your best friend since preschool. Play nice, Wildcat, claws in."

He rolls his eyes again, draping an arm around her shoulders as he begins to lead her back towards the couches. "_Fine_. But only because you say so," he grumbles good-naturedly, and she giggles as they sink down on the loveseat.

His script is already spread across the coffee table, and Gabriella unrolls her script, flipping to the pages for Act 2, Scene 4. "Okay. Wanna start from the third scene?"

Troy sits forward, takes his own script. "That's the scene after the dressing room argument, isn't it?"

Gabriella grins and nods. "Yep."

"The one that introduces us to Arnold and Minnie's secret relationship?"

She grins again. "Yep."

Troy grins too, sitting back and making himself comfortable. "Alright then. Let's get started."

"Okay." She clears her throat. "ARNOLD is once again sitting in the middle of the stage. Now he is in full costume for his character Ollie. Enter MINNIE from STAGE LEFT…"

* * *

Two hours later, the play and practicing for it have been all but forgotten. 

"Remind me again how she knew it was him for sure?" Gabriella asks, wrinkling her eyebrows and pointing to the couple fighting on screen.

Troy rolls his eyes affectionately. "She knew from the job footage – the way he did the thing with his foot, remember?" He winces as the woman onscreen punches her husband in a particularly… _delicate_ spot. "See, that's just mean, right there."

Gabriella smirks, shifting into a more comfortable position. She and Troy are cuddled together on the cushiony leather couch, her head pillowed on his shoulder and his arms around her waist. "Okay, fine. I still don't think it's plausible, but whatever."

Troy groans good-naturedly. "Gaaaabi," he chuckles, tightening his grip on her waist. "We've been through this! Twice!"

She grins. "I know, and I still don't think she could have identified him just from that footage, even if she is that good!" She cuts herself off with a shriek as her boyfriend begins tickling her mercilessly. "TROY, stop it!" she screams in laughter, attempting to writhe out of his embrace.

"No ma'am, Miss Montez, not until you admit defeat!" Troy laughs, ruthlessly and strategically torturing his helpless and very ticklish girlfriend.

"Never!" she manages through her giggles, arching her back and attempting to pull out of his arms.

"Then neither shall I concede!" His grin only widens as her laughter fills the room, blending prettily with the sounds of a dirty fight and Charles Wright's remix of '_Express Yourself'_.

"OKAY! Mercy, mercy!" she finally shrieks, her face glowing and tears of mirth streaming down her cheeks. "I give up!"

Troy grins as she collapses against him, not even bothering to fight back anymore. "Tell me you love me!"

"I love you!" she squeals, and finally he relents, just wrapping his arms around her. She gasps for breath, glaring up at him. "Now who's evil?"

He just shrugs, grinning wildly. "All is fair in love and war."

She rolls her eyes, smiling back and punching his arm gently. "Such a jerk."

"Ah, but I'm a jerk who loves you, so we're even."

She just rolls her eyes again and turns back towards the screen. "Whatever," she mutters playfully, and he chuckles.

Their playful mood fades, however, as the fight onscreen turns to physical contact of another nature _entirely_.

In an instant, the atmosphere in the room has transformed from playful to sexually charged and tense, and neither are quite sure what to do, so they just sit in awkward silence.

Troy is the first to break the quiet. "Well…yeah, maybe we should…" he says in a strained tone, grabbing the remote. "Forgot…that…I'll…just…"

Gabriella swallows hard as she hurries to agree. "Y-y-yeah, sounds like a good idea…"

Both are silent as Troy quickly turns off the movie. He turns back to her with a sheepish, slightly uncomfortable grin. Gabriella smiles back at him, self-consciously tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. _Well, this is - _

"Do you have any idea what you do to me when you smile at me like that?" he asks suddenly, stunning her out of her train of thought. His tone is neutral, but his eyes are dark with something she can only classify as desire, and it makes her tremble.

She blushes, getting up to retrieve her script, spread out across his desk. "What do I do to you, Troy?" she says after another tense moment, cursing the tremor in her voice.

For a moment, there is silence, and Gabriella feels her heart begin to pound. _Say something, Wildcat…_

She bites down lightly on her lower lip as he suddenly places gentle hands on her hips. His body is warm and tall behind her, and she swallows hard as he leans down, his cheek brushing against her hair.

In a voice meant only for her, Troy whispers, "You torture me."

She swallows again, her eyes fluttering closed as he lightly kisses the side of her head. She begins to say something, but her words die with a gasp as he begins to kiss a fiery trail down the side of her throat. _Oh…god_…

"W-W-Where did you say your dad was?"

"He's in Santa Fe, he won't be back for hours," he mutters into the curve of her neck, inhaling the scent of her hair and her citrus shampoo.

She inhales sharply and swallows hard as his hands slip from her hips to wrap around her waist from behind, his fingers sliding ever so slightly beneath the hem of her shirt. She shivers as his fingers begin to trace invisible designs on her bare skin.

"Y-Y-You're sure about that?" she manages, willing her knees not to buckle as she grasps the back of the task chair for support.

He nods wordlessly, kissing the sensitive skin at the back of her neck. It is getting harder and harder for Gabriella to breathe. His hands are widening their area of exploration.

His fingers lightly brush the area of skin just below the waist of her jeans, and she cannot help it. A tiny little moan of pleasure, barely audible or existent, slips from between her lips – and it is all over.

He whirls her around, and their lips crash together in an explosion that rivals that of any unstable compound. The script falls from her hands, scattering hopelessly across the floor. His hands wrap around her waist, hers thread through his hair; sexual frustration combines with the aphrodisiac known as complete privacy to form an extremely erotic cocktail.

He pushes her up against the desk, and she fists her hands in his hair, opening her mouth fully to his exploration. He tastes her greedily, unable to get enough. Her knees give out completely, but it makes no difference; his arms around her are keeping her upright.

Another moan, this one unmistakable. His hands slip down to her hips, and he moves to stand between her legs to kiss her better. She does him one better, wrapping her legs around his waist.

He holds her slight body effortlessly, slides his hands beneath her thighs to support her weight. She whimpers against his lips as he shifts her higher, carries her over to the bed. They fall back, tangled together, her long brown hair splaying across the sheets, his hands pinning her wrists above her head.

"Oh, god, Troy," she gasps as he breaks away, pushes her shirt up a few inches and begins attacking the smooth, toned exposed flesh of her stomach with kisses.

"W-w-we can't –" she bites down hard on her lower lip to contain a shriek as he covers her body with his, moves to continue his exploration of her throat. "_Troy_! We can't…do…this…" her little moans of pleasure somewhat defeat her nobly-intentioned statement.

"Why, Gabi?" he mutters between kisses before pushing himself up on his hands, looking down into her eyes. "Why are you so scared of this? Of us?"

She shakes her head emphatically, pressing her face into his chest. "It's not that, Troy, I swear. I want this…but…"

"But what?" he asks, inhaling sharply as she shifts into a more comfortable position beneath him.

She pulls back, meets his intense blue gaze. "But what if we get caught? Or what if, somewhere down the line…we break up…and this just ends up being one huge mist-"

He cuts her off with a searing kiss that causes her to melt. "Listen to me, Gabriella Cristiana Montez. Us being together is _not a mistake_, do you hear me? I _love_ you, Gabi, and I know we're young, but –" it is his turn to cut himself off.

"But what?" she echoes, unconsciously mimicking their previous exchange.

He looks her square in the eye as he answers. "But I know I want to spend the rest of my life with you. That's how I know we're not a mistake, Gabi. Because I know we're going to last."

She is grinning brilliantly, and she throws her arms around his neck, pulling him back down on top of her. "I love you too, Troy. And I want to spend the rest of my life with _you_."

She leans back as best she can, raising an eyebrow. "But that still doesn't answer my first question. What happens if we get caught?" Her eyes widen. "What happens if your _dad_ walks in?"

He grins suddenly, and her other eyebrow joins its partner. "What?"

"You expect us to be doing this for another six hours?" he smirks as she reddens.

However, Gabriella smirks back, and begins to unfasten his jeans. "Well that depends."

She bites her lip with a seductive little grin. "How long can _you_ go, Wildcat?"

His eyes widen a little, and she laughs aloud as she pulls him back down into a kiss.

* * *

Two hours later, the two collapse back on the bed, both sated and utterly spent. 

Gabriella is gasping for breath as she crawls towards the pillows, her heart rate finally beginning to slow down. "…Wow," she breathes as she curls herself around a pillow, trembling with pleasure as she closes her eyes. "I…that…just…wow."

Troy grins, landing beside her as he too attempts to catch his breath. "Yeah, that's just what I was thinking," he chuckles, running a hand through his unruly hair, as if he is unable to believe the events of the last few hours.

Gabriella giggles, crawling over to cuddle up against him and draping an arm across his chest. "Remind me to challenge your endurance more often." Troy chuckles, too, wrapping his arms around her.

He begins caressing the sweat-slick skin of her back, drawing gentle, lazy circles on the silky-smooth flesh. "You're not too shabby in that department, either, Miss Montez. I think you're the _real_ Wildcat in this bed!" He laughs as she hits him softly. "And I had no idea you were into _that_ kind of thing!"

She hits him again, blushing furiously at the far-from-innocent thoughts and decidedly adult images now coursing through her mind. "Shut up," she pants, returning her head to its position pillowed on his shoulder. "Just…shut up."

He laughs again, and she grins at the rich, husky sound. "What, no witty comeback?" he teases, and she shakes her head a little.

"Nope. I'm exhausted," she murmurs, angling her head to glare up at him affectionately. "You kind of wore me out," she accuses, smirking wildly.

He smiles back, now stroking her long, perspiration-soaked hair. "Ditto," he replies simply, and for a moment, they just lay there, content to regain their strength in silence.

After a few minutes of quiet, Troy murmurs something into her hair, and Gabriella looks up at him again, a question in her bright brown eyes. "What was that?"

He is silent a moment, and Gabriella is suddenly struck by all kinds of overwhelming doubts. "Troy?"

"I said I love you," he mutters, unable to meet her gaze, and all her fears disappear as quickly as they arose.

"Do you really? Mean it, I mean?" she asks after a moment of composing herself. She pushes herself up a little to look into his ocean-blue eyes. "I mean really, _really_ mean it?"

He nods, meeting her gaze without flinching. "I really, _really_ mean it. I meant it before, when I said I want to spend my life with you, and that hasn't changed in the last two hours. I mean it now."

He grins softly at her, brushing a strand of hair out of her beautiful eyes. "I love you, Gabriella Montez, and I always will."

Her smile nearly splits her face in two as she blinks away sudden tears. "I love you too, Troy Bolton. You have no idea how much." And she presses her lips to his. He relaxes and begins to kiss her back.

Within moments, the kiss has gone from gentle and loving to passionate and erotic, and suddenly neither is so _relaxed_.

"I thought you were exhausted," he mutters around her lips, rolling over to pin her beneath him and stifling a low groan as she presses the length of her body against his.

She suddenly turns the tables, rolling over so she is on top. She smirks down at him as she straddles his hips, tosses her hair over her shoulder. "I was. I always was one to regain my strength quickly."

She slides her hands up his rock-hard stomach and chest to rest behind his head. "Now the only question is if _you're_ tired, Wildcat."

She catches her breath as his hands find the soft flesh on her sides, his eyes burning as both they and his hands roam across her skin.

"You're so beautiful…" he manages as her eyes flutter closed, her head falling back at his gentle caresses.

"Mmm, stop telling me and show me," she breathes, trembling as his hands slide lower on her body.

He grins and obliges, sitting up and capturing her lips with his again as he pulls her closer. She responds energetically, throwing her arms around his neck and arching into him. A sharp intake of breath, a whispered curse -

"Troy? You inside?"

The sound of Jack Bolton striding in the front door causes both hearts to stop dead.

He is home four hours earlier than expected.

The young lovers break apart hurriedly, eyes wide and pulses racing yet again.

Troy swears vehemently, and Gabriella nearly kills herself getting out of the bed.

"I thought you said he'd be gone for hours!" she whispers stridently as she untangles herself from the sheets.

"I thought he would be!" he grumbles back, getting up himself. "He said he'd be back around midnight!"

She dashes around as quietly as possible, picking up hastily discarded garments and throwing them on. "Ohh, we're so going to get busted," she moans quietly, pulling on her jeans with adrenaline-induced strength, wincing a little. "Damn you and your Wildcat stamina!"

Troy cannot help but grin wildly as he too redresses, pulls his sweaty T-shirt back over his head. "Don't worry, beautiful. I've got a plan."

* * *

Downstairs, Coach Bolton is shutting the door behind him. "Troy? Are you here?" He drops his keys and briefcase on the entryway table and loosens his tie. 

He walks into the kitchen. No Troy. He checks the living room. No Troy. He pokes his head into the office. No Troy.

Jack is beginning to become suspicious. "Hello…anyone home?"

He moves to the foot of the stairs, yelling up to Troy's closed bedroom door. "Troy!"

When there is still silence, he raises an eyebrow. Coach Bolton places a hand on the banister, lifts his foot, and –

"Dad?"

Jack whirls around, stumbling at the sudden lack of balance. "Troy, there you are. I was calling for you, where have you been?"

Troy removes his I-pod headphones as he shuts the front door behind him. "Out for a run. I thought you were coming back around midnight," he pants, raising an eyebrow.

Jack nods. "Well, I was going to be. But the State Education Board signed the proposal much quicker than we all expected, so I just came home early."

His son nods, as well, wiping the sweat from his face with the hem of his shirt. "Well, that's good. Oh, hey, what time is it?"

The coach checks his wristwatch. "About ten till eight, why?"

Troy grins widely. "Gabi's supposed to be here at eight – I finished practicing and asked if she'd come over and help me memorize lines."

As he speaks, the doorbell rings behind them. Troy's grin widens, if possible. "Right on time," he laughs as he opens the door.

Gabriella smiles at him, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "On time for what?" she asks sweetly, grinning at Jack as she comes inside. "Hello, Coach Bolton!"

Jack smiles back. "Hello, Miss Montez. And please, Coach Bolton is for school hours. Off-campus, you can call me Jack."

Gabriella nods, fingering the edge of her script. "Okay…Jack. Is it okay that I'm here? Troy told me he was done, and we do both need a little practice, so I figured you wouldn't mind if – "

Jack cuts her off with a smile. "Yes, Miss Montez, it's perfectly fine for you to be here. I appreciate your concern for my approval." His expression changes from one of lightheartedness to slight shame. "And…I owe you an apology, Miss Montez. My actions a few weeks ago were inexcusable, and I am truly sorry for being so rude."

Gabriella smiles the 'Gabi grin'. "No harm done, sir. And please, call me Gabriella." She shakes his proffered hand as Troy breathes a silent sigh of relief.

Jack nods again and then turns to pick up his briefcase. "Well, don't let me interrupt you, kids. Have fun, and don't do anything I wouldn't do!"

Troy and Gabriella both fight to keep from blushing as the coach begins to walk away. "Okay, Dad. We'll be downstairs if you need us."

Jack waves over his shoulder and proceeds into his office, leaving the two teens alone once more. Troy then blows out his breath and takes Gabriella's hand. "Come on, I'll show you the den."

She follows without hesitating, suddenly overwhelmed with a rush of adrenaline.

They make their way down a flight of stairs directly off the living room and through a short hallway until they enter a room painted spring green. Gabriella does not notice any of this.

The instant her boyfriend collapses on the chaise lounge, she is on top of him, kissing him thoroughly. Troy responds instantly, grinning when she straddles him. He sits up a little more, threading his fingers through her sweat-dampened hair and pulling her closer.

When they finally come up for air, he smiles roguishly. "I can't believe we got away with that," he gasps, brushing loose strands of hair out of her eyes.

She grins brilliantly, slightly smug as she watches him swallow hard. "I thought we were goners," she laughs. "Thank _god_ you have stairs from your balcony."

He laughs, too, untangling one hand from her hair to rub at the back of his neck. "Yeah, unlike someone else I know, with only a big tree to climb." He chuckles again as she sticks her tongue out at him.

"Well, sorry. I don't think the architects had escape routes for teenagers in mind when they designed the house. Especially teenagers about to get caught having sex." She rolls her eyes as he laughs aloud.

"Well then, Ms. Montez, we'll just have to make sure that we won't get caught next time," he smirks up at her, shifting her around on his lap to fit more comfortably against him.

She smirks, too, tossing her dark hair over her shoulder. "What makes you so sure that there will _be_ a next time, Mr. Bolton?" she teases.

His eyes darken considerably. It is Gabriella's turn to swallow hard as he smiles impishly, hands on her hips. "Well, Gabi, I don't know about you, but after _that_ little encounter, I'm not sure I could keep my hands off of you." He illustrates his point by sliding his thumbs beneath the hem of her shirt again and tracing the familiar designs on her skin.

She rolls her eyes. "You're insane, did you know that?" she whispers with a grin, leaning down to rest her forehead against his.

He grins back, and begins to say something smart. But her lips on his cut him off, and grinning into the kiss, Troy lowers them both back onto the chaise.

_Only for you, Gabi.  
_

* * *

**Author's Footnote**: LOOKIE! Update! AND the previous teaser, as promised! 

**Teaser:**

"_Troy, are we really going to do this here?" _

"_Can't think of a better place at the moment."_

Ooh…juicy.

**Game**: first **ten** people to review and tell me which **movie** T&G are watching get a sneak preview of the next two chapters - and honorable mention or something of the kind, ya know. _coughcoughlikeit'shardtoguesscoughcough_

**Next chapter info**: almost complete– look for it within the next week or so! If 10 review by tomorrow, I may be generous…;-)

Stay tuned for Chapter Five: **Focus**! And please review – feed my creative muse, she only eats when you review! Come on – do YOU want to be responsible for the starvation of a cute little muse? Please – her life depends on you!

;-)  
-d-o-l-


	5. Chapter 5: Focus

_**Author's Note **_

_**AAAAAUGH! DON'T HURT ME::cowers in terror from pitchfork/icepick-wielding readers:: IT'S HERE, IT'S HERE!!!  
**_

_In My Own Defense:_ I went through a breakup, got back together with my best friend, got engaged, lost a job, gained another, developed a renewed passion for anime, completely FORGOT the plot I had developed for this story, found the hard copy of the plot (YAYZ), re-wrote this ENTIRE CHAPTER, and began a move back to my home in Florida.

I've been busy, LOL!

THIS CHAPTER GOES OUT TO EVERYONE WHO HAS REVIEWED IN THE LAST THREE MONTHS. Thanks, guys, for not giving up! This one's for you!!!

Review and the next chapters come MUCH sooner (2 more to go, and an epilogue if I'm feeling generous!)

Love, demanderoflogic

* * *

**In True Wildcat Fashion**  
_Chapter Five: Focus  
_

* * *

_**BOOM!**_

Gabriella dives for cover as the Erlenmeyer flask she had been brewing on the Bunsen burner boils over and explodes in a large cloud of pungent steam. She swears in a loud and very unladylike fashion as little droplets of hot water rain down on her.

"Focus, Gabriella, focus! That's the third unstable compound you've formulated in ten minutes!" Taylor admonishes as she comes out from behind the cabinet door, coughing and waving her hand to clear the steam. "Where is your head today?"

_In the game, _Gabi thinks wryly, wiping beads of condensation from her forehead. "I'm sorry, Tay, I just can't think."

_And thinking is my specialty. Damn you, Troy Bolton. _

She begins to clean up her mess, her mind once again wandering to Friday night's events. She smiles dreamily, spacing out as she retrieves a fresh flask and a new batch of chemicals.

_//Do you have any idea what you do to me when you smile at me like that?//_

She cannot help but grin, her heart pounding as she pours several liquids into her flask and stirs them together with a glass rod. She smiles wider as she reaches for another beaker.

_//You're so beautiful…//_

"GABRIELLA!"

"WHAT?" She starts out of her reminiscent daze, slightly irritated that her steamy flashback has been interrupted.

Taylor's eyes are wide as she quickly snatches the beaker from her best friend's hand. "You were about to produce chlorine gas!"

"Oh my god, I'm sorry, Taylor, I just wasn't focusing!" she gasps, quickly taking the other flask from the burner and disposing of the chemicals inside.

The Chem-Club president rolls her eyes. "No kidding! Penny for your thoughts, Minnie!"

Gabriella blushes bright red, her skin warm as she returns the dangerous chemicals to their respective cabinets. "Um, y-y-yeah, I was just – thinking about…the play," she stammers, forcing the sultry thoughts from her mind.

The other girl raises an eyebrow. "Uh huh, sure. You've got that 'I'm thinking about my hottie superbomb not-boyfriend naked' look on your face."

Gabriella looks over sharply, eyes wild. "What did you say?" she asks stridently, her face now Wildcat red.

Taylor looks surprised at her reaction. "Gabriella, chill! I was kidding…wow, what a reaction! _Were_ you thinking about him naked?"

"No!" Gabriella answers, a little too quickly.

"Uh huh, _suuuuure_. What are you not telling me?" Taylor asks, stepping closer with a look of interest on her features.

Gabriella forces herself to take a deep breath and calm her racing heartbeat. She smiles shyly, brushing a strand of hair out of her eyes. "Nothing, I just…I kind of walked in on him changing yesterday, and…well, I kind of can't get it out of my head," she fabricates quickly. _Not a total lie…_

Taylor looks scandalized, and grins wildly. "No wonder you're distracted. Mr. Washboard Abs himself…I hear his body is rock hard, is it true?"

Gabriella blushes brilliantly, forcing thoughts of rock hard _somethings_ out of her mind. "Should I be worried that you're thinking about Troy's body?" she teases to distract herself, silently cursing the heat pooling deep in her belly.

Taylor snickers. "No. I'm just wondering so I can tease Chad with it. He's so vain – it would drive him nuts if he thought Troy looked better shirtless. He'd become obsessive about it, which would then cause Troy to become obsessive about it, and then we would all benefit. They look fantastic and we get Greek gods for boyfriends."

Gabriella laughs aloud. "That would be great…if he were my boyfriend!" Taylor laughs at her friend's denial. "But I like the way you think, Taylor. For the record, yes. Troy has a body like marble…"

Her eyes seem to glaze then, and she develops a dreamy smile. Taylor rolls her eyes. "Hopeless. I've lost you forever in Troyland."

Gabriella snaps out of her daze, shoots a mock glare at her friend as she glances up at the clock.

She catches her breath and puts the empty beaker back on its shelf. "Oh, wow, Taylor, I'm late for rehearsal. You and Chad want to catch a movie or something tonight?" she asks, dashing back to her things and stuffing notebooks and papers into her bag hurriedly.

Taylor shrugs, her attention now focused mainly on the beaker full of powdery chemicals in front of her. "I dunno, I'll call you when I know what we're doing."

"Okay, talk to you later!" In a whirl of brown and pale blue, Gabriella is out the door.

* * *

On the other side of the campus, the Wildcat basketball superstar is having quite a time keeping his head in the game.

Though you would never know it by his playing performance.

"Dude, Troy. You're on _fire_ today! What did you _do_ this weekend?" Chad pants, placing his hands on his knees as he attempts to catch his breath. The score as it stands: Chad – 15, Troy – 48.

Troy wipes sweat from his forehead, smirking as the words "my girlfriend" come to mind. _Probably inappropriate_. "Not much, why?" he asks, throwing the basketball casually towards the basket.

Chad whistles appreciatively as it swishes straight through the net. 49-15. "Well, whatever you did, you need to do it before every game, man."

Troy covers his laughter with a cough. "Y-yeah. Sure."

_//Oh, god, Troy…//_

He grins wildly at the memory, keeping his eyes downcast as he bounces the ball in preparation for a free throw. He aims, he shoots –

_//Damn you and your Wildcat stamina!//_

_Swish_. He scores. 50-15.

Chad shakes his head. "Impossible."

Troy just grins, dribbling the ball absent-mindedly. "I've just been practicing more, that's all."

His crazy-haired best friend looks at him dubiously. "Where do you find the time to practice basketball between practicing for the play, doing homework, and going on dates with Gabriella?"

Troy glares at Chad as he takes another shot. _Swish_. "Chad. I've told you a thousand times. Gabriella and I are _not. dating_." He sets up for another.

"Whatever, dude. We both know you so want to jump her bones." _Thunk_! The basketball rebounds off the backboard, bounces off towards the bleachers. Troy swears vehemently and goes running after the ball.

When he returns, Chad is grinning smugly, arms across his chest. "See?"

Troy rolls his eyes, passes the ball roughly to his best friend. "Your turn. I believe the score is 51-15."

The wild-haired forward scowls, begins spinning the ball on his right index finger. "Dude, if I even had a chance of catching up, we'd still be here all night." He gestures to the big clock at the end of the court.

Troy double takes. "Oh, jeez, man, I'm late for rehearsal!"

Chad rolls his eyes again and takes the shot. Nothin' but net. "You're whipped, dude."

Troy ignores him. "You and Taylor wanna come over for movies or something tonight?" he asks, sprinting over to where his things are spread out on the bleachers. He glances over his shoulder at Chad as he begins to grab his stuff.

Chad shrugs. "I dunno. I'll ask her and call you later."

"Okay, catch you later."

With that, Troy sprints to the locker rooms

* * *

One quick change, two flights of stairs and three long hallways later, Troy can see the music room. The sounds of Kelsi warming up on the piano filter down another long hallway, and the thought of seeing his gorgeous girlfriend after a very long day is incredibly appealing. 

He grins, shoulders his gym bag and begins to -

"Whoa!"

Troy suddenly finds himself in the janitor's closet seven doors down from the music room, being attacked by a very familiar pair of soft lips.

Most people would be a bit surprised by this sudden barrage of affectionate attention, maybe a little confused, possibly frightened.

But, as it is well known, Troy Bolton is _not_ most people.

"A little eager today, Gabi?" he gasps when they finally break for air. They stumble further into the closet, knocking over brooms and mops as they go.

Gabriella tosses her hair over her shoulder. "Maybe just a little…" she moans as he begins covering her neck and shoulder with soft, wet kisses. "…but you just looked so _hot_…" she grasps the hair at the back of his head, gently pulls his lips back to meet hers.

"But the janitor's closet?" he mutters into her mouth, placing his hands on her hips. "Not that I really mind…"

She merely whimpers a little, gripping two fistfuls of his white wifebeater in her hands. "I couldn't…_help_ myself…"

Gabriella chokes back a moan as his lips brush a particularly sensitive area of skin beneath her left ear. "_Troy_…"

Her knees give out as he focuses his attentions on that spot; he catches her instantly, gently pushes her back into the wall. "Well, had I found this place first, I probably would have pulled you in here, too…" He pulls back to grin at her, eyes sparkling. "You beat me to it."

"Hmm, shut up and kiss me," she murmurs with a grin of her own, and he happily obliges.

"Did Taylor ask you as many questions as Chad asked me?" he pants as her fingers fumble for his belt buckle, returning to his exploration of her shoulderblade.

"Only if Chad asked you a million," she cuts herself off with a gasp as he presses her more firmly against the wall, and she instinctively wraps her legs around his hips. "Troy, are we really going to do this here?" she sighs as his hands begin caressing the insides of her thighs.

"Can't think of a better place at the moment," he mutters, lifting his head to press his lips to hers again. The fabric of her skirt bunches around her hips as his jeans hit the floor.

Gabriella throws her head back, resting against the wall as Troy begins sliding the strap of her tank top off her shoulder, following its path with agonizingly slow kisses. His other hand, however, is causing her far greater pleasure.

"What…about…practice…?" she gasps, whimpering as he abandons patience and pulls her pale blue shirt over her head, exposing lacy underwear in the same pastel color. "Kelsi…right down the hall…!" She arches into him as his hands brush sensitive skin. "Troy, _please_…"

He cannot help but grin a little as she removes his own shirt, begins kissing his throat urgently. Both pieces of clothing join the others now strewn across the floor. "What was that about Kelsi being down the hall?" he pants, cutting himself off with a swallowed moan as she begins to trace the sculpted planes of his chest and stomach with the tips of her fingers.

"Kelsi who?" she whispers, before once again capturing his lips with hers. He groans into her mouth, pushing her harder against the wall and kissing her just as urgently. One hand slides up her back, and his fingers find the clip on her bra. She shifts against him, he begins to unhook the clasp -

"_There's no business like show business, there's no business I know – "_

They break apart swearing, and Troy carefully lowers Gabriella from her slightly elevated position on the wall.

"That's her," Gabriella gasps, fumbling for her phone in her bunched skirt pocket. Troy steps back, running his hands over his face and through his hair as she answers the call. "Hello?"

"We have got to find friends with better timing," he groans, and Gabriella motions for him to hush.

"Shh…Hmm? What was that, Kelsi?...is it really 5:30?" she mimes checking Troy's notoriously non-existent watch. "Oh, wow, it is, I'm sorry, Kelsi, I didn't realize it was so late…Oh, I'm in the science lab. I got…held up while studying…anatomy."

Troy cannot help but grin wildly as she smirks at him. "…Why does everyone always think dirty thoughts when I say that?" she asks after a pause, and Troy only barely refrains from laughing aloud.

"Kelsi, how is Troy speaking of anatomy?" He does laugh then, quickly converting it into a muffled cough when Gabriella mock-glares at him. "Whatever. And no, I haven't seen Troy," she says, then raises an eyebrow and smirks at her boyfriend.

"Unfortunately," she adds in a whisper, and he chokes on a laugh again. "Yeah, I'll see if I can find him. He's probably practicing in the gym. You know how they lose track of time in there…yeah. Yeah. We'll be there soon…okay. See you in a few…bye."

She ends the call with an indignant beep – and buries her head in Troy's bare chest, takes a deep breath, and screams.

Troy smirks, wrapping his arms around her. "Good to know I can make you scream all the time," he teases, but then he yelps as she bites his collarbone. "Ow!"

She smirks up at him. "No use joking, Bolton, you know you're just as disappointed as me," she says, pressing her hips closer to his in a meaningful fashion.

He clears his throat and nods, burying his nose in her hair and inhaling deeply to calm himself down. _No dice. She smells damn good. _"Probably more."

Gabriella giggles and begins to straighten her skirt; he groans as she steps away. "Come on, Wildcat. Let's get going. Kelsi is already suspicious." She bends over, picks up their discarded clothing. She hides her smile in her hair as she hears him swallow hard.

She giggles again as she tosses his shirt at him. He is still just standing there, looking very much like a puppy that lost its favorite chew toy. "Get dressed before I run off with all your clothes and leave you here like that for the janitor to find."

That snaps him out of it, and he grins as she begins to redress herself. "You are aware that our janitor is a woman, right?" he teases, and Gabriella freezes halfway through pulling her shirt over her head. "She might like finding me in here like that."

"Troy!" she gasps, and he laughs. "That's horrible!"

He grins, quickly pulling his shirt on, followed by his jeans.

When they are both fully clothed and situated, they pause and give each other the once over, checking for anything that might give away their secret.

"You're good," Gabriella grins, quickly pulling his necklace out of his shirt.

He grins back, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear. "So are you."

They exchange one last quick kiss before opening the door. Troy peeks around the corner, down both sides of the empty hall. "All right, we're clear." He steps out, still keeping his eyes peeled for anyone who might see them exiting the closet.

Gabriella hurries to follow him out, shouldering her backpack and waiting for him to shut the door again. Once it is closed, they begin running towards the music room, hopefully creating the auditory impression that they're in a hurry.

The two exchange a glance before bursting into the music room. "Hi, Kelsi!" Gabriella pants, skidding to a stop as she tosses her backpack onto the nearest surface – in this case, a piano. She winces as the baby grand makes a hollow squawking noise.

Troy grimaces as well. _Chill, Gabi, get your head in the game._

Kelsi raises an eyebrow. "Hi to you two, too…what took you guys so long?" she asks suspiciously, eyeing both their persons.

Her eyes widen as something about Gabriella catches her attention. "Gabriella, your shirt is on inside out."

She pins both of them with an intense stare. "What were you two doing?"

Every muscle in Troy's body stiffens.

_Oh god, we're screwed._

He is stunned, however, when Gabriella gasps beside him. "Oh my god, it is?" She glances down at her shirt and turns brilliantly red. "Oh my god!" She elbows Troy. "Why didn't you tell me this sooner?" she chokes, hurrying to dig a hoodie out of her bag.

He stutters, shocked by her handling of the situation. "Um, uh…I…d-d-didn't notice it until now?" he offers, and Gabriella blushes redder.

"Oh my god, it's probably been like that the whole day!" She zips her hoodie all the way up. "Oh, god, this is so embarrassing! No wonder Sharpay laughed at me this morning!"

Kelsi looks surprised. "That was seriously an accident?" she says incredulously, and both Troy and Gabriella shoot her confused looks.

"Of course it was, Kels, what else would it be?" Troy asks innocently, and Gabriella bites her tongue to keep from grinning.

_We're such liars. We're so going to hell. _

Gabriella smirks as Kelsi looks positively discomfited. _Why, Miss Nielson, were you thinking dirty thoughts about darling Troy and me? _She smirks even more.

"N-N-Nothing, anyway." Kelsi clears her throat, adjusts her glasses as she takes a seat at the piano. "So, are we going to do this?"

The two lovers exchange secret grins as they take their places beside the piano bench. "Yeah, let's do it," Gabriella answers quickly, biting the inside of her mouth to keep from laughing aloud. Beside her, Troy is doing the same, his famous grin tugging at the corners of his mouth.

And they are both thinking the same exact thought:

_Oh, Kelsi, if only you knew._

* * *

Whatcha think? Worth the wait? Review and give your opinion! Flames go the way of the five full trash bags of stuff from my closet/room long, long, LONG gone.

-dol


End file.
